After 44 days in the saddle Tom Kokoris and his daughter Olga, rolled into New York City on Friday, having safely completed the 5000 km US leg of their charity bike ride from Sydney to Greece.
The dynamic duo left Sydney on April 1 on a multi-continent cycle ride to raise money for ELPIDA, the Greek charity that cares for children suffering from cancer.
They biked to Brisbane before flying into Los Angeles to begin their trek across the United States.
Olga’s trip finishes in the States, but later this month Tom will fly to Lisbon and continue until he gets to ELPIDA’s headquarters on the outskirts of Athens.
During the first half of the US trip, temperatures varied from below freezing to more than 38 degrees Centigrade ,Tom told Northwestern Missouri’s St. Joseph News-Press.
In Arizona they were caught in a sandstorm and had to accept a lift from a local family to find shelter. Crossing Kansas, they hit windy patches that made it feel like their bikes carried an additional 30 kilos of weight, said Tom.
American hospitality has impressed Tom almost as much as the scenery Tom told the American newspaper.
“Every hotel we’ve stopped, they’ve said, ‘Take care,’ ‘Be careful,'” he said. “That’s kind of a nice, comforting thought.”
Tom and Olga will now enjoy a two-week break in New York where family have arrived to meet them. Tom will then journey on to Lisbon on his own to begin the final 5,500 km to Greece.
To follow Tom on the European leg and for details on how to make donations, go to Facebook and search for ‘ELPIDA-Association of Friends of Children With Cancer’. You can also follow Tom via his blog at http://podilato-elpida.blogspot.com.au/
Additional material: St. Joseph News-Press